Blockages within flowlines and umbilical cores are an ongoing concern within the oil and gas offshore industry. The more infrastructure is installed, the greater the risk of further blockages. Deepwater and cold water (arctic) fields are driving ever longer and more expensive tie-backs. The potential costs of blockages to operators are enormous and alternative remediation techniques are required. Pipe-Pulse is a new technique that has been used successfully to remediate umbilical cores up to 20 mm and pipelines up to 150 mm. The system is potentially capable of locating and releasing blockages that have resisted attempts to release them by conventional means. It has freed blockages at distances of over 10 km from a line access point. The methodology is in its infancy and many parameters have yet to be optimised, especially related to the size, shape and frequency of pulses. It is not yet known how strongly the characteristics of individual blockages will influence the optimum values of these parameters. This paper has presented the state-of-the-art in an open manner, warts and all. It is hoped that it will promote equally open discussion at the conference, perhaps triggering future collaborations as well as stimulating new ideas.
Use of pressure surge for unblocking hydrocarbon pipelines
2012
17 Seiten, 6 Bilder, 10 Quellen
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Englisch
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